Witchfire
by Pandora of Ithilien
Summary: XBookverseX Ellia Verdi grew up in maunteries, first in Oz, then in Fliaan. Now she's left the cloisters at last, to study at Colarin Academy. Little does she know that her real life is going to begin there...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: _Wicked_ belongs to Gregory Maguire, not me. Ellia is mine, along with anyone else you don't know.

**_Prologue:_** After the birth, the mysterious green woman lapsed back into unconsciousness while Sister Midwife checked the babies for any problems. They were both healthy, it seemed. Except... neither of them cried, and the girl was green like her mother, though a paler shade. More jade than emerald, the maunt mused. She cleaned the children up and then carried them to the nursery. The maunts named the boy Liir and the girl Ellia. The twins seemed closely connected right from the start. When one baby cried, the best way to soothe the child would be to put the siblings together. As they moved from infancy to toddlerhood, this only grew more pronounced, with Ellia usually taking the lead for them both.

The maunts did their best to keep Ellie, as they called the girl, away from her mother. The only time Sister Saint Aelphaba set eyes on her green child, she collapsed in a two-day relapse of her coma. So they kept Ellie away while encouraging the green maunt to care for Liir. If she accepted her son, they hoped, one day she would accept her daughter as well.

But that all changed when the twins were six years old. They had been moved to the outpost mauntery outside the city - they had been afraid to separate the twins four years earlier, when the move had taken place - and now a group from that mauntery was leaving Oz altogether to start a new mauntery in Fliaan. One of the maunts going, Sister Jennet (she had kept her own name), was Ellie's caretaker. The maunts decided that Sister Saint Aelphaba wasn't likely to accept either child at this point, but that if Ellie and Liir were split up, the boy might have a chance with his mother. So they agreed to let Sister Jennet take the girl with her.

Liir and Ellia grew up separately, one in Fliaan, and one in the Vinkus, for he left with their mother for that region about a year after Ellie had gone. Neither of them clearly remembered the other, most likely because they had blocked the memories. But the effects of their interrupted relationship showed. Liir never seemed to know how to assert himself, because he'd never had to learn. Ellie found herself needing someone to watch out for, to defend, and had no one.

The fourteenth year was important for both of them. Liir's life was changed by the supposed death of Elphaba - he'd never seen her body himself, so he had no proof he could see as concrete. Still, he was sure she was gone. And Ellia... Ellia left the mauntery at last, for Colarin Academy. She was a scholarship girl there, and she planned to study magic. And that is where this story really begins, with Colarin Academy...

A/N: If anyone is wondering why I talk about Elphaba's death the way I did... it's an AU. That is my final word. Also, I apologize for this intro. I know it's dull, but I just wanted to give everyone the necessary background information. R&R!


	2. Bianca

Disclaimer: The _Wicked_ universe belongs to Gregory Maguire, but any new characters or places are pretty much mine.

**Part One: Colarin Academy**

_Chapter One - Bianca:_ Ellia Verdi got on the train for Ieldra, the capital city of Fliaan. Looking at her, no one would have seen the excitement she felt. Growing up in maunteries tended to give one a lot of self-control.

She had the compartment to herself for the entire trip. That wasn't surprising, considering. Ellie didn't look like most people. Her skin wasn't white or brown, but jade green. The fact that the only clothes she had were black - thanks to the maunts - didn't help any. She was lonely, but she did as she always did; she pulled a book from her bag and read for the whole trip.

When she got off the train, she got directions to Colarin Academy. She got lost once, but managed to find her new school. She had a map of the campus and, pulling it out, headed for the admissions building.

She walked in the door, noticing the look of shock on the face of the secretary seated at the desk. "Hello," she began. "I'm here to get my room assignment and my roster."

The woman blinked and seemed to take a moment before she said, "Name?"

"Ellia," Ellie replied, forgetting her last name. It wasn't like she'd had it her whole life, after all. She hadn't needed one in the mauntery, and had picked 'Verdi' ouict of a book on a whim.

"Ellia what?"

"Oh! Sorry. Ellia Verdi."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Right. Well, here you go." She handed Ellie a paper. The girl took it and ran.

It didn't take long to find her dorm building, the Shalas Dormitory. Ellie found her room, 303, and opened the door. A girl looked up from the bed to the right. She was a pale, freckled girl with curly red hair and lively, dancing gray eyes.

"Hi. You're my roommate?" she asked Ellie, who nodded. "Great," the girl continued. "I'm Bianca Rahay, what's your name?"

"Ellia Verdi," Ellie replied.

"Nice to meet you," said Bianca Rahay, holding out her hand. Ellie just stared at her.

"Did I say something wrong?" Bianca asked.

"I'm just wondering why you aren't already at admissions begging for a new roomie."

"Why would I do that?"

"Well..." Ellie gestured to her skin.

"Oh, that. I don't see any problem. I'll only want a new roomie if we don't get on, and if we don't, well, you'll want to switch too, trust me." Ellia raised a thin black brow and Bianca grinned. "If I don't like someone, I make his or her life a living hell," she elaborated.

"I see," Ellie murmured.

"You aren't the talkative type, are you?" Bianca asked.

"I grew up in a mauntery," Ellia replied.

"Oh. Enough said."

"Exactly."

"So... what are you majoring in? I'm taking history."

"Magecraft, actually."

"Really? I'd think a mauntery girl wouldn't be interested in that."

"I'm not a unionist, and I think it's probably _because_ I'm from a mauntery." Bianca laughed.

"My papa says that religion is useless. Mama hates that; she's a devout worshiper of Lurline, but we kids have our own choice in the matter."

"Lurline? I've heard of her, but I don't know much..."

"Neither do I, and I have you talking now. I'm very proud of myself."

Ellie stared at her in confusion and then smiled. "So you do. I wondered why I felt so tired."

"Oh, good, you have a sense of humor." Bianca grinned at her. Ellie just stared at her.

"You're insane."

"Well, yes, but you'll get used to it, I swear."

"I'll have to, won't I?" But Ellie was smiling. This Bianca girl was a bit loopy, but she seemed all right. Ellie had never made friends easily; had never really made friends at all, actually.

Bianca watched her green roomie unpack. Ellia seemed really uncertain of herself, at least as far as social stuff was concerned. But once you got her talking, she was pretty nice. Bianca smiled to herself. It would be nice to finally have a friend who wasn't an empty-headed budding socialite. It really would.

A/N: So, what do you guys think? And just wondering, does anyone know the real reason why Ellia's last name is Verdi? Those of you who take Italian should be able to guess it, and probably the ones who take Spanish as well. R&R!


	3. Classes

Disclaimer: The _Wicked_ universe belongs to Gregory Maguire, but any new characters or places are pretty much mine.

_Chapter 3 - Classes: _The next morning, Ellie and Bianca got up, dressed, gathered their books, and went to breakfast in the dining hall. After breakfast, though, they split up. Bianca headed for the history building while Ellie went to the mages' building. Her first class was Magical Theory, taught by a tall, cheerful blond man called Professor Keld. He seemed nice, but his class was terribly dull.

Her next class was Branches of Magic: An Overview. This class was about all the various specialties a mage could choose. The teacher, Professor Nadine, was a stern woman with tightly-braided gray hair. Ellie was probably the only one in the class who liked the tough old woman; Nadine reminded her of the Superior Maunt, and even though she was thrilled to be out of there, she did miss it, a little.

This was followed by Magical Tools and Artifacts. The teacher here, Professor Dove, was a Quadling immigrant, judging by her rosy skin and crippled syntax. Still, she seemed to be the nicest teacher thus far.

Incantations was next. They didn't really get to do much in this class, because first they had to memorize charts and lists describing the various forms of incantations. One of Ellie's classmates, a boy with a shock of red hair called Tam, leaned over his desk to whisper to a neighbor, "I thought we were supposed to learn this stuff in Theory." The teacher, Professor Vestrin, a tall, brown haired woman, spun around and fixed poor Tam with an icy glare, made all the more unnerving by the violet color of the teacher's eyes. He shut up immediately. Ellie shook her head. Tam really shouldn't be baiting teachers on his first day.

At lunch, she met back up with Bianca, who was gushing about her previous class, Basic Foreign History. Her teacher had apparently taken ill and the substitute was one of the mage instructors, a Professor Dalloway. "And he told us, it's his first year. He's only 18, just graduated himself, Ellie, and I'm telling you, he has got to be the handsomest man I have ever seen."

Ellie groaned. "I was hoping you were a sensible sort, Bianca," she said with a sigh. Bianca looked hurt.

"I am, usually, but I am a girl, and I'm serious, when you see him you won't be so disdaining, missy." Ellie shrugged and then frowned as the boy Tam walked over to them.

"Hey, Bianca, how's class going?" he asked.

"Oh, fine," Bianca said with a shrug. "Tam, did you meet Ellie Verdi? She's got the same major as you; I'm sure you've seen each other. Ellie, this is my cousin, Tam Cooper."

"We're in Theory and Incantations together," Tam said. "So, Ellie, is it? Nice to meet you properly." He held out a hand to shake. Ellie took it after only a second's hesitation.

"Nice to meet you too. Do you think you're permanently out of Vestrin's good graces?"

Tam chuckled. "It's possible. I don't particularly care. I have a point."

"Well, yes, I agree."

"Thank you! I am vindicated!" And with that, he turned and headed back to his own table. Ellie gave Bianca a sidelong glance.

"Does everyone in your family have so much energy?"

Bianca grinned. "Mostly. Just Gramma doesn't, and she used to." The bell rang. "Bye, Ellie! And remember to tell me what you think of Dalloway!" Ellie rolled her eyes.

Ellie's second to last class was Arcane Magic. This class, taught by absent-minded Professor Jaxon, was all about ancient magics. Ellie had a feeling she would like this class; it seemed fascinating.

She had a free study period next, for which she knew she would be grateful later. Then came her last class, Potions. And, according to the schedule, this was the class taught by the 'famous' Professor Dalloway.

She was in the class first, probably because everyone else had stopped in the halls to chat. She came into the classroom and sat down quietly. The teacher had his back turned, but he turned around as she took out her notebook and pen. She nearly dropped the pen. Bianca had been right. Professor Dalloway was tall, with jet-black hair and tawny gold eyes. He had lightly tanned skin, and his face was nearly perfect, except for a slightly crooked nose, which somehow made him all the better, as though that one imperfection made him real. He smiled at her, and she thought that if he smiled at girls he was interested in that way, they must simply melt for him. She nearly did. It was only the steely backbone of her mauntery education that kept her seated, and not sliding into a puddle on the floor though she ducked her head quickly.

Everyone else came in, each girl's eyes lighting up when they caught sight of the teacher. The boys all looked aggravated, especially those who had been flirting with said girls only moments earlier.

Professor Dalloway cleared his throat and began. "So, Potions. Even if you find yourself failing dismally at Incantations or Arcane Magic, or any of what we traditionally call magic, you may find yourself to be a talented potioneer. Now, we learn a lot of herbalist's arts here, because of their uses in potions. Those of you who have grown up among those who know their herbs might already know some of what I'm going to teach you, so I ask you to bear with me and help your classmates who might not have your knowledge."

"I think you will like this class. I just got out of those desks myself, and I remember how boring things could get. So, I try to make this fun, but I'm giving you a warning. As the year goes on, we will be working with potions that get progressively more dangerous. If I catch you fooling around, you get one reprieve. Second time and you're out. Do we understand each other?" There was a general murmur of assent. "Good. So, let's get started. I'm going to introduce you to some basic herbs and plants today. Can anyone tell me the uses for willowbark?"

That was the final class, after which everyone returned to their dorms. Bianca was waiting expectantly when Ellie walked in. "Well?"

"He's very attractive, I'll give you that." Ellie lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, at least you'll admit that much. Come on, girl, you're not in a mauntery now! You won't get in trouble for thinking someone's cute!"

Ellie shrugged. "He's a teacher, Bianca. So it wouldn't matter, would it?"

"No, but... Oh, you're no fun!"

"Sorry."

Bianca groaned, and then said, "So, tell me about your other classes, and I'll tell you about mine." They spent the remained of the time until dinner discussing their classes and then after dinner, continued the conversation.

That night, Ellie found she couldn't sleep. She felt as though... well, she didn't know exactly. She felt like something was happening somewhere, something that was important to her, but that made no sense. When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of a chubby boy sheltering from the rain under a large black cape, with a pigtailed girl, a lion - or was it a Lion? There were so few Animals in Fliaan, it was hard to tell - a Tin Man, and a Scarecrow. _Interesting crowd_, she mused in her sleep. The scene shifted, and she saw a dark-skinned man with some kind of markings on his skin watching a woman on a bed. The woman looked as though she'd been badly burned, but what jolted Ellie awake was the woman's skin. It was as green as her own, though it was a darker shade.

Ellie's eyes snapped open and she stared up into the darkness. That had been an odd dream, and it had made so little sense. And she hardly ever dreamed, which made it all the stranger. She rolled over and managed to sleep again, and this time she didn't dream at all.

A/N: Well, this is the longest chapter thus far. I managed to introduce a few more important characters, which makes me happy. R&R!


	4. Ash

Disclaimer: The _Wicked_ universe belongs to Gregory Maguire, but any new characters or places are pretty much mine.

**_Chapter Four - Ash:_** At the end of the first week, Ellie was already swamped with schoolwork. She did it little by little, and so by Sunday afternoon was finished. Bianca had left everything to the last minute and so was becoming extremely frazzled as she tried desperately to finish. Ellie finally left, deciding that she'd rather not be within range if Bianca exploded.

She wandered out of the Academy complex and into the city proper. Her heart pounded in excitement. She'd never actually been in a city before, except when she'd first arrived, because the mauntery was in the countryside. The hustle and bustle made her uncertain, but she kept going, because she was curious. She got a few odd looks because of her skin, but she knew that in general, that would be ignored. Fliaan was a country of mages, and there were enough people walking around who didn't look quite normal thanks to curses or muffed spells that most people assumed that was what was wrong with her. _Let them_, she thought._ Really, no one needs to know the truth._

She found a park and sat down on a bench, simply watching the people go by. The bench where she sat was mostly in shadow, so it was hard for those walking past her to see her skin color. They didn't stare too much, but she still disliked it._ Maybe I can find a potion to make me normal,_ she thought. _But first_, she thought, flinching away from a dog that was shaking water from its coat, _I'm going to get rid of this annoying allergy_. Who had ever heard of someone who was allergic to water anyway? She didn't know.

She sighed, and looked up, staring through the tree canopy at the clear blue sky. No clouds. That was good. As she stared, her mind drifted, and from the very back of her mind she heard sounds, laughter. A little boy was laughing at something she said. She could almost see him... he had the same eyes as she did... blue, like the sky, except darker, more like sapphires.

She shook her head as she came out of her daze. What was that about, exactly? _You know what it's about_, a voice whispered in the back of her head. She did, sort of. That little boy popped into her mind now and then, starting when she came down with a fever when she was ten and had been hallucinating. Since then, he'd haunted her on and off, like a ghost who only visited her when he had nothing better to do. But who was he? A figment of her imagination, or a real person, an old playmate, perhaps?

A soft sound pulled her out of her reverie. A mewing noise. She frowned, and stood up. It seemed to be coming from a bush. She knelt down and peered into the branches. A tiny kitten was curled up there. "Oh... here, kitty," she whispered. The kitten hesitated, and then crawled out. "Hey there," Ellie murmured, her hand held out to it. The kitten nosed at her hand, mewing. Ellie decided to risk picking it up.

The kitten allowed her to pick it up, and a quick check told Ellie that the kitten was female. She purred as the green girl stroked her, thinking. The kitten was too small to survive out here, and there was no rule at Colarin saying that they couldn't have pets. "You want to come home with me?" It was stupid, animals didn't talk, but she said it anyway. She had never been able to talk to the other kids at the mauntery. Up till now, all her friends were animals. She'd talked to them, ears that just listened, or at least, she liked to think that they listened. So she didn't see any reason to stop that habit. When the kitten curled up in her lap, she decided that counted as a 'yes'.

When she got back to her room, Bianca looked up and gasped when she saw the kitten. "Oh, it's so cute! Why didn't you tell me you were getting a cat?"

"I wasn't planning to. I found her. In the park."

"All alone? Poor thing... What are you naming her?"

Ellie paused, thinking. She studied the kitten for a moment. Her fur was a soft gray color, so... "Ash. I'm calling her Ash."

A/N: Hey, she needs a familiar, right? Just joking. Anyway, I hoped you liked this latest installment. But I want to address a question someone had. Why don't people hate Ellie because of her dream and who she looks like? Why aren't they trying to kill her, even? Well, the original version of this story (which was completely different) would have answered that. It's all in the politics I've set up for this. The Fliaanese... don't like Ozians. They weren't all that impressed with what they saw of the Wizard, and, really, they didn't go for the whole 'Wicked Witch of the West' thing. And she's not dumb enough to go blabbing about her dreams to anyone. That, and well, I go into the whole thing about the assumption that Ellie's skin is the result of a curse or a messed-up spell in this chapter.


End file.
